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Linda Ronstadt Says She Has Parkinson’s Disease

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NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Linda Ronstadt has Parkinson’s disease and can no longer sing, the legendary pop star told AARP in an interview Friday.

The Grammy Award-winning singer of hits such as “You’re No Good” and “When Will I Be Loved” said she was diagnosed with the degenerative disease eight months ago but believes she has been experiencing symptoms for seven or eight years.

Ronstadt had previously blamed not being able to sing on a tick bite and believed her shaking was because of a shoulder injury. The 67-year-old singer said she walks with the aid of poles and uses a wheelchair when she travels.

The full interview will be published next week on aarp.org, but the website posted excerpts Friday.

“I couldn’t sing,” Ronstadt said, “and I couldn’t figure out why. I knew it was mechanical. I knew it had to do with the muscles, but I thought it might have also had something to do with the tick disease that I had. And it didn’t occur to me to go to a neurologist.

“Parkinson’s is very hard to diagnose, so when I finally went to a neurologist and he said, ‘Oh, you have Parkinson’s disease,’ I was completely shocked. I wouldn’t have suspected that in a million, billion years,” she added.

“No one can sing with Parkinson’s disease. No matter how hard you try,” Ronstadt said.